Tractors and other work vehicles often include both front and rear facing tools or attachments, which allow a single vehicle to perform multiple functions on a worksite or farm. Such attachments may be directly driven by the tractor motor using a power take-off (“PTO”) shaft, or may also be hydraulically or electrically driven. Depending on the type of attachments used, it is often desirable for a user to be able to position the seat of the work vehicle so that the user can face the direction of the attachment. For example, a tractor may have a front loader attached to the front of the tractor, with a backhoe attached to the rear of the tractor. Operation of a backhoe requires the operator to be able to see the backhoe, and the controls of the backhoe are positioned accordingly.
Typical tractors approach the issue of needing a front and rear facing seat in one of two ways. First, some tractors are equipped with two separate seats, one front facing and one rear facing. Having two separate seats allows the seats to be positioned optimally for operation of the tractor and the rear facing implement, and operator comfort is maintained. Many other tractors, however, omit the rear facing seat in favor of a front facing seat that may only be adjusted rotationally to a rear facing position. Such “swivel” seats typically do not allow an operator to adjust the horizontal or vertical position of the seat and put a premium on operator comfort only when the seat is used in the front facing position. Commonly, controls for the rear attachment are positioned either higher or lower than the forward operating controls. Additionally, controls for the rear facing attachment may be closer or farther away from the seat horizontally when compared to the position of the front facing controls. Using a seat that merely swivels may place the operator in an uncomfortable operating position, which may result in increased operator fatigue and could even lead to injury if used for prolonged periods of time.
As such, there is a need for an adjustable swivel seat for a work vehicle that may be retrofitted to existing work vehicles using a minimum of parts, and may be adjusted not only rotationally, but also vertically and horizontally to allow an operator to use a single seat to achieve the comfort and ergonomics of a two seat tractor.